New bulb or new PJ? JVC x3 to what???

alright, first bulb lasted around 1000 hours on the x3 but dimness became and issue around 800 where it was almost unbearable to watch movies. The ghosting in the 3d has always been an issue as well. second (replacement) bulb has made it about 300-400 hours and is unbearable. I am tired of this. Some points:

I need a longer lasting/brighter bulb.

I dont watch much 3d but enjoy it when I can (would enjoy it more with no crosstalk)

I primarily use the PJ for movies and gaming, I would say 50% gaming and the other 50% between movies and TV...motion would be a concern for gaming.

For these above reasons Im mainly concerned with 2d viewing and I love the lights on a little in my 100% light controlled batcave. The x3 has a GORGEOUS 2d image when the bulbs are new, but when after 300 hours it has already become too dim to enjoy, this is unnacceptable. perhaps a newer version of the bulb will actually fix the issue, but who knows?

I like a super bright image! Im not a major BlackLevel freak, but dont want to have something like a presentation PJ in my basement. Id be willing to sacrifice some black level to start out with a super bright image that I could dial back at first and eventually open up as the bulb begins to drop lumens.

Ive so far looked at the BenQ7000, Epson 5010 and panny7000. The sony gets a little further up there in cost, but I might be able to work if depending on what I can get for my x3 should I decide to sell it. But alas, perhaps it is worth keeping? I dont know, all I do know is only getting a couple 100 hours of awesome viewing is dumb, and im ready to move on if the time is right...

Any thoughts would be MUCH appreciated!!!

Thanks in advance!

Yea minus the pricetag


Thanks zombie, I remember reading your posts back when I made the decision to go JVC. I really appreciate your passion for the industry, it helps so many of us make decisions that otherwise would be completely UNeducated Im still torn because the biggest thing ive missed is brightness. I host a LOT for sporting events and I tend to keep lights on unless it is a full length movie. They are all can lights and are dimmable, but additional brightness is still a plus.


define serious gamer!! haha j/k. really I play MW, guitar hero when a new one comes out, and the need for speed games, I dont really venture much further than that and max hours I play is still not an insane amount, possibly averaging around 8-10 hours on a good week, none on a bad week. I would say more of a casual gamer...


Ive looked at that one as well but I have several 3d titles and I still enjoy 3d, the only movie that looks decent that Ive watched thus far is avatar, the rest, ghosting is pretty apparent, so I kind of got discouraged.

also, whats the difference between the sony 30es and the 30aes or is there any?

Copy that, I like your signature too!! haha

So even though many are rooting for the Sony, I think im going to cross it out. The price tag is just too high and I feel like I need slightly more light. This has always been a concern of mine with the JVC. Within the first week or so, the brightness was great but not long after that, it was dimmer than I wanted. I really think I need a light cannon. For that reason, I think the epson, BenQ, or panny would all more than likely do the trick. Im not a huge color buff either, none of my TV's in the house are calibrated professionally, and I dont own a light meter or anything like that. Im more of a sound guru, and that is where I will continue to spend my coin on measurement equipment.

With that said, it doesnt seem like too many folks squawk about the panny, but at it's price range and performance level, it seems like a worthy contender. I dont take into account contrast ratios realistically, unless they have been tested real-world, but Dynamic Irises, FI,and manual zoom and focus, those things are important. I really enjoy the electronic zoom and focus controls on the JVC, do any of these PJ's have that? The Dynamic iris i dont even know if the JVC but what are the pro's and cons there? FI I do know about, and it is ok with the JVC, but from what ive read so far, the other, newer units seem to handle this a little better.

The video game lag thing I dont think would really affect me with the exception of guitar hero, but it can be adjusted out so that is no concern really to me either. as I said above, im just a casual gamer...but I will destroy you in MW (Them's fightin' words!! haha) not really there either, just a middle of the road kinda guy when it comes to that stuff.

Ok, so there are my thoughts so far on this process. Dang I just wish the bulbs for the JVC's actually lasted how long they were supposed to, but so far, im too scared to press forward with that. They will only give you replacement bulbs for so long...

sounds good! Your screenshots of the 3d mode looks awesome on the epson too, doesnt seem to knock the color out near as bad.


The main game I play is modern warfare, which would be nice to have a little less lag, but if it is close enough between the two models, im not SUPER concerned. I also dont know how susceptible I am to RBE, but it seems the newer DLP's dont suffer from that too bad.

Does the epson have the ability to adjust the panels for convergence issues?

My screen is a 124" Stewart Firehawk A-T and I dont have any intentions from moving from there, ive only had it since around october or so, and I absolutely have to have A-T (Too many big speakers behind there )

One other thing to note, and I say this with the assumption if I have a PJ that I actually am not afraid to throw some serious hours on, is the epson replacement bulb is cheaper than the BenQ's, but only by 50 bucks. They are both still a rediculous amount cheaper than a JVC replacement bulb so I would foresee me spending a lot more time in the theater in either case. As soon as I can confirm with JVC that they are sending me another bulb, Im probably going to go ahead and order another PJ, and sell the RS40 with a family bundle with 6 glasses and the emitter, maybe even some 3d titles. All I want to do is break even on the whole deal

well actually only 50% of the time the theater is used, is the projector on anyways I tend to listen to a LOT of music down there and dont even bother turning the pj on. so of the time im in the theater, 25% would actually be gaming, 25% movies and tv, and the other 50% just listening to tunes. I dont log barely any hours during the summer months in the theater, as Im a big outdoors guy, but during the colder months, it's on I bet you 2-4 hours a week max in the summertime, sometime 2-4 hours per night in the winter haha.